Justice For Dandara!

You may recall the vicious February 15 beating and murder last year of 42 year old Brazilian trans woman Dandara dos Santos by several wastes of DNA men that was captured on video. 

2017 also happened to be the deadliest year on record for TBLGQ murders in Brazil.

Dandara was taken out of her home in Fortaleza, stripped, beaten, kicked, stoned and mocked by the killers as she pleaded for her life.  She had transphobic and homophobic slurs hurled at her before she was thrown into a wheelbarrow and carted off. to be shot to death.

The brutal videotaped murder sent shockwaves around the world and outraged the Brazilian and global trans community.  The video also lead to the identification and arrest of the mob of  men  who killed her. .

Justice was finally served in that case as five of the eight participants in this heinous crime received a combined 83 years in jail .

Francisco Jose Monteiro de Oliveira, Jr. who shot dos Santos, was given 21 years in prison.   Jean Victor Silva Oliveira, who attacked her with a wooden board, received a 16 year prison sentence.

Rafael Alves da Silva Paiva, who was filed repeatedly kicking Dandara, was also sentenced to 16 years in jail along with Francisco Gabriel dos Reis.   Isaias da Silva Camurca was sentenced to 14 years and 6 months for his part in the attack on our trans sister, beating her with flip flops.

Jean Oliveira and Paivi are appealing their sentences on the basis of their actions weren't decisive in causing Dandara's death.

Incredibly all of the men tried make the claim that while they attacked her, they weren't responsible for her death. 

It was a claim that prosecutor Marcus Renan Palacio dismissed by saying to them, "No one killed Dandara?   Was it lightning that fell on her head?  Was it a stone from a building?

Francisco Oliveira after being sentenced tried to apologize to Dandara's relatives, claiming that he'd committed the crime because he was deluded and he'd learned he has to have love in his heart.

You were right about the deluded part.   But the date you needed to have love in your heart was on February 15, 2017, not when your azz is about to do 21 years in prison from murdering another human being.

Number 5- Rest In Power Zakaria Fry

When a person goes missing, once you pass ten days that the person was last seen alive or heard from, the likelihood that the missing person in question is still alive drops with each passing day.

So when 28 year old Zakaria Fry went missing along with 70 year old Eugene Carrell Ray back on January 18 in Albuquerque, NM., while we held out hope that both might still be alive, the missing person odds told us there was a high probability she might not be.

Fry had moved to Albuquerque from Indiana several years ago according to her sister Brittany Willis, and was renting a room from Ray.    Rat was a prominent attorney in the area, and Ray's family told APD that they feared that he could have been involved in a violent situation.  He was last seen alive on January 18, and his home was found in disarray along with some suspicious items. 

Fry was reported missing a few days later.  She was last heard from on that same January 18 date, with a friend receiving a text from her.

Yesterday the Albuquerque Police Depart confirmed that the two bodies found by rancher Fidel Montoya in the small town of Stanley, NM on February 19 have been positively identified as Eugene Ray and our trans sister Zakaria Fry. 

Fry's body was found by Montoya crammed in a trash can on the edge of his property 45 miles from Albuquerque   Ray's was found in a different location on a dirt road two miles away.

A person of interest was recently spotted driving Ray's car and APD is looking for him.

This is still an open investigation according to APD Public Information Officer Simon Drobik.  They still don't know why they were killed, and haven't released any information as to how they died.

APD is asking anyone with information that could potentially help solve this case to call Crime Stoppers at 505-843-STOP (7867)

Fry is the 5th trans person we have lost in 2018, and we hope that the person or persons who committed this heinous crime are caught and expeditiously brought to justice.   

Rest in power and peace, Z.   

Number 1- Rest In Power, Christa

We are just six days into this New Year, and I now have the sad duty of announcing to you the murder of our first US trans person of 2018

I was notified by my friend Jahaira DeAlto that our first trans murder of 2018 has happened in the western Massachusetts town of North Adams yesterday

Our fallen sister is 42 year old Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien.

According to a report in the Berkshire Eagle, and reporter Haven Orecchio-Egresitz, she was found dead Friday after North Adams police responded to a 9:20 PM EST call to investigate a homicide at 107 Veazie Street.   Investigators arrived at the Veazie Street address 25 minutes later and remained at the scene throughout the evening according to the report.

It is the first homicide that has been committed in the town of North Adams since September 2013.  As to the cause of Christa's death, an autopsy will be performed Sunday in Holyoke, MA by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to answer that question.

The perpetrator of this crime is alleged to be Christa's 47 year old husband Mark Steele-Knudslien, who walked into the Adams police station at 9:09 PM EST to admit he killed his wife.  They subsequently notified North Adams police to check out the home.

Steele-Knudslien will be arraigned on a murder charge Monday morning in Northern Berkshire District Court and is being held without bail.  He was held overnight by the Adams Police Department before being taken to the Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction today.

On her Facebook page are several wedding photos of the couple dated April 15, 2017

North Adams Police are also tight lipped about how and when Christa, who was active in the area trans community, produced the Miss Trans New England and other pageants and was well loved and known by many in the New England and national trans community, was killed. 

My contacts in the area are working on getting me that additional information ASAP and I will update this post as I receive it.

This is still a developing story, and as of yet, no word concerning if or when a memorial service will happen.   As soon as the details are passed on to me for a memorial service are confirmed  I'll let everyone know.

Rest in power and peace Christa!   Everyone who loved you will not rest until justice is served in this case. 

Number 22- RIP Candace Towns

Woke up this morning to find out that we've lost our 22nd trans person to anti-trans violence in the person of 30 year old Candace Towns of Macon, GA.

Candace is also the 17th Black trans person we have lost this year to anti trans violence, and 16 of the 17 people were trans feminine.  Sadly she was just 30 years old.   She's the tenth Black trans person we've lost in 2017 who was age 30 or younger.

And as you probably guessed, the initial article by Laura Corley not only misgendered her, but also deadnamed Candace as well. 

Towns was staying at the Rodeway Inn on Eisenhower Parkway, was last seen alive Saturday,   and war reported missing on Sunday.   At 4 PM EDT Tuesday an anonymous 911 call was received  reporting a person was down at the end of a driveway and was possibly dead. 

That person was our trans sister, and police arrived she was found shot to death on top of a hill on Rosecrest Avenue between  Bright Street and Edgewood Ave. 

This had not been Candace's first brush with anti-trans violence.   In July 2009 the Macon Telegraph reported that she'd been shot in the ankle on Pebble Street, a few blocks from when her body was found Tuesday afternoon.

As of this writing there are no suspects in this case, and if you have any information that will lead to the apprehension and incarceration of the killer, please call  Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME (1-877-682-7463)

No word of any memorial service or funeral arrangements as of yet.   I'll pass that info on as soon as I receive it.   I also will keep track of the case until justice is served for our sister to the satisfaction of her family and all who loved her..

Killer Of Monica Loera Facing Trial Today

Monica Loera of Austin was the first of a record 27 trans people murdered in the United States in 2016.   Thanks to a tip from one of my TransGriot readers Lana Hunter, I've been made aware that the person accused of murdering her, JonCasey William Rowell, is about to go on trial for Loera's murder.

Yesterday Rowell was in court as a jury was empaneled in the 299th District Criminal Court in Austin for the trial that starts tomorrow.

Rowell was charged with first degree murder in this case.

Have a few Austin trans community members planning on checking out the proceedings in the trial in the hopes that our sister receives justice in this case.   We'll also be watching to see if the defense attorney for Rowell attempts to use the trans panic defense which sadly is still legal to use in the Lone Star State.

You know I'll be keeping an eye on what transpires in that Travis County courtroom.  I sincerely hope that justice in served on behalf of Monica and all the people who loved her.

Number 21- RIP Stephanie Montez

We have lost our 21st trans person to anti-trans violence and the third in Texas this year in 47 year old Stephanie Montez.  She's also the second trans Latina we have lost in 2017 to anti-trans violence.

And yes Dan Patrick, Greg Abbott, Lois Kolkhorst and Texas Republican Party, her blood is on your hands.

She was found in a field off County Road 61 near Robstown, TX on October 21 with multiple gunshot wounds in the chest, abdomen and shoulders.   The reason I'm just finding out about this a week later is because the Nueces County Sheriff's Department misgendered and deadnamed her.

If it weren't for a Planet Transgender story  and her longtime friend Brittany Ramirez  speaking up and talking about her life in a Corpus Christi Caller Times interview , we wouldn't have known about this latest Lone Star State trans murder and the 21st in 2017 

PFLAG Corpus Christ is organizing a Trans Rights Rally in her memory on November 4. 

The Nueces County Sheriff's Department is still investigating the murder, and if you have any information on this case, you are urged to call the Nueces County Sheriff's Department or Crime Stoppers at 361-888-TIPS (8477)

I'll also be keeping track of this case until justice is served.

Rest in power and peace, Stephanie.

Number 13- Rest In Peace Josie Berrios

Once again, we have lost another US trans woman of color to anti-trans violence in 2017, and sadly she is another trans woman of color.

At 6:58 AM EDT Tuesday morning the burned body of 28 year old Josie Berrios of Ithaca was found in the Breazzano Center building under construction at 209-215 Dryden Avenue in the Collegetown area of Ithaca, NY near the Cornell University campus. .

The body had apparent burns when it was found at the scene along with an accelerant in a gallon can of gasoline that was found at the scene.

Today 45 year old Michael Davis was arrested by the Ithaca Police Department at 10:00 AM EDT and charged with two counts of second degree felony murder and one count of felony arson.

According to reports in the Ithaca Voice, Davis was captured on surveillance video wearing an Alpha Security Bureau uniform and carrying a black duffel bag into the Dryden Avenue building.  Another photo was taken with him wearing the shirt and carrying the duffel bag inside the under construction building and exiting the building later without the shirt

That black duffel bag containing a green lighter and the Alpha Security Bureau shirt was found by IPD at 309 College Avenue.  At Davis' residence Ithaca Police allege they found a plastic bag that contained work gloves and clothing with a strong petroleum smell.

He is being held without bond in the Tompkins County Jail at this time.   Davis is also alleged to have had a personal relationship with Berrios at this time.

The IPD is also asking for as part of its investigation into Berrios' death for information from anyone who was walking or hitchhiking along Ellis Hollow Road, Turkey Creek Road or Ellis Hollow Creek Road between 5:45-6:45 AM EDT on Tuesday.

As i get further information about this heinous crime, I'll pass it on to you TransGriot readers.

Happy International Women's Day 2017

Got back from ATX after a long day at the SB 6 hearing yesterday and then crashing into bed nanoseconds after I finally hit the house,  but now that I'm awake and in hard solid thinking and writing mode wanted to wish everyone a happy International Women's Day.

On this day I'm thinking about all the amazing women in my life cis and transgender who are amazing leaders in various fields, entrepreneurs, teachers,  moms, aunts, nieces, and just generally bad ass. in every way.  And thanks to the men, cis and trans who ain't 'scurred' to love, support and kick it with us bad ass women

Thank you sisters for being your fabulous selves in every way.   I also thank on this International Women's Day those cis women who are intelligent enough to realize that trans women are women, and just go with it from there in terms of helping us build the relationships and sisterhood we will need to challenge the issues that ail all women together

I'm also thinking about my international sisters who are also facing challenges in their various corners of the world.   I see you, I hear you, and on this day pledge to do what I can to elevate your concerns and get the discussion started with input from you in what actions we can take together to make your lives better.

On this day, it's all about honoring women across the planet for being themselves and working together to make this a better world for all of us to navigate.

Happy International Women's Day 2017!.

Arrest Made In Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow Murder Case

There's some good news to report in the case concerning our murdered sister Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow.

The Sioux Falls, SD police arrested 25 year old Joshua Rayvon LeClaire on January 7 in the wake  of obtaining video surveillance footage of him leaving her home and using her cell phone on January 1.

The initial arrest of LeClaire after being confronted by SFPD officers and using a false name to avoid arrest was for marijuana possession and a parole violation.  The charges got upgraded after video surveillance evidence was obtained by SFPD that showed LeClaire leaving Wounded Arrow's apartment in the early morning hours of January 1.  

LeClaire admitted he was in Wounded Arrow's apartment in the early morning hours of January 1, and he was indicted by a grand jury and charged with one count of first and second degree murder, one count of false impersonation and one count of marijuana possession.

If LeClaire is convicted, he is facing the death penalty or life in prison without parole.   He is currently being held in the Minnehaha County Jail on a $2 million bord.    

Still keeping my eye on this case along with our South Dakota trans fam to see if Jamie Lee receives justice.

Rest In Power and Peace Jamie Lee

We haven't finished our first week of 2017, and we have now lost two trans people in the United States to anti-trans violence.

The latest trans person to unfortunately be killed in 2017 is 28 year old Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow of Sioux Falls, SD.   A neighbor smelled a strong odor coming from a nearby apartment at 8th Street and N. Cleveland Avenue on the east side of Sioux Falls Friday night.

When police arrived at that location, they discovered the body of Wounded Arrow.  It is presumed she was murdered on New Year's Day.

Jamie was new to the Sioux Falls area, and grew up on the Pine Ridge reservation. She was a proud Oglala Lakota trans woman working at a local call center and an active member of Sioux Falls Two-Spirit and Allies.

The Sioux Falls PD is considering her death a homicide, and they are looking for any information that will help them solve this case.

There will be a prayer service for Jamie Lee tonight at 6 PM tonight at the Cleveland Heights Apartments.

Rest in power and peace Jamie   We won't rest until the person who killed you is brought to justice.

Texas 2016 TDOR Events

The Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial events are taking place across the Lone Star State during this  Trans Awareness Week leading up to the TDOR itself on November 20.

It's been a rough year, and the election results didn't help matters for us.  If you can please support these TDOR events and others if you can.  The Texas trans community will be targeted for oppression in this upcoming Texas legislative session, and we need to know that you have our backs

We are also participating in event around the state and nation in advance of the TDOR to educate people about our lives and the issues we face.

This is just the short list of TDOR events happening across the state.   If there are others, let me know via e-mail ASAP so I can update the post.


Thursday November 17

San Antonio
1621 N. Main Ave.
San Antonio, TX 78212
Rear parking lot of that location
6-7 PM

MCC San Antonio
611 E. Myrtle St.
San Antonio, TX 78212
7-9 PM

San Marcos
Wesley UCM
510 N Guadalupe St
San Marcos, TX 78666
7 PM

Saturday, November 19
Houston
A.D. Bruce Religion Center
University of Houston
3841 Cullen Blvd
Houston, TX 77204
(hosted by HTUC)
6:30-10 PM

Fort Worth 
First Jefferson UU Church
1959 Sandy Ln
Fort Worth, TX 78112
7-9 PM

Sunday, November 20

Waco
Waco Heritage Square
311 Austin Ave.
Waco, TX 76702
5-7 PM

Dallas
Legacy of Love Monument
Oak Lawn Triangle
(at Cedar Springs)
6-8 PM

Houston
Houston City Hall
901 Bagby St.
Houston, TX 77002
6:30-10 PM

Austin 
City Hall Plaza
301 W. 3rd St
Austin TX 78701
6:30-9:30 PM

El Paso
Borderland Rainbow Center
2423 Silver Avenue
El Paso, TX 79930
6-7 PM

Houchen Community Center
609 Tays St
El Paso, TX 79901
5-8 PM

Arrest Made In Deneequia Dodds Case

I have some good news to report in that an arrest has been made in the Deenequia Dodds case.

You'll recall that Dodds was found by a pedestrian shot in the neck in the early morning hours of July 4 in the 200 block of Division Ave NE just a few blocks from her home/  She succumbed July 13 from her gunshot wound after nine days on life support at Prince George's Hospital Center.

There were unfortunately no witnesses at the time to what happened to Dee Dee, and MPD detectives suspected it was a robbery and a $25,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer.

Looks like the reward worked in getting the necessary information.

22 year old Shareem Hall of District Heights, MD was arrested yesterday morning and charged with murder while armed.   Hate crime charge enhancements are a serious consideration in this case according to Interim MPD Police Chief Peter Newsham.

Know that I and my DC trans family will be keeping an eye on this case to ensure that justice is served.
 

Two More USA Trans Women Lost In 2016

Once again, it's my sad duty to report that we have lost two more trans women, one in Maine, and one in Chicago which brings the death toll this year up to 20 with three months to go.

43 year old Lexxi Sironen's body was found floating in the Kennebec River on September 6 at 8:15 AM EDT near the water reservoir of the Brookfield Power Facility.   She was from Waterville, ME, lived along the riverbank and was associating with other transient people in the area.

Friends of Sironen think that foul play was involved in her death, and while an autopsy on the body has been done by the state medical examiner, the cause of death has yet to be announced.

There will be a memorial service held for Sironen on September 18 at 12:00 PM.

Waterville police are still investigating, and if you have information that will help solve this case, please call Waterville Police Detective David Caron at 680-4700.

I'm also tired of the mugshot being used instead of this pic I found on her memorial website.

In Chicago, the body of a 26 or 27 year old Black trans woman known as T.T. to all who loved her on Chicago's West Side was found with her throat slit in West Grant Park and the knife nearby on Sunday night.   Ironically T.T's body was found a mere two blocks from the spot where Paige Clay's body was found in 2012.

T.T was pronounced dead at the scene, and was misgendered by the Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune when they first reported the case.  It took subsequent reporting from the Windy City Times to correct the police and media misgendering.

There was a vigil held for T.T yesterday at the corner of Monroe and Kenton Streets in which a friend of T.T's named Jaliyah Armstrong stated that T.T had an altercation with another trans woman three days before she was found dead and that person threatened to kill her.

Hmm CPD, sounds like a lead in this case to me.

The Windy City Times in a 2015 investigative report by Gretchen Hammond documented the CPD's problems with misgendering trans people, but it's obvious that they still refuse to learn anything.

The investigation into T.T.'s death by the CPD is an ongoing one, but the local trans community is pessimistic that it will result in the arrest and prosecution of her killer.

If you have information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of T.T's killer, call Cook County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-535-STOP

Rest in power and in peace Lexxi and T.T.

Arrest Made In Dee Wigham Case

I'm happy to report for you TransGriot readers that an arrest has been madee in the Dee Whigham case.   She's the latest one of our sisters to be unfortunately taken from us in 2016.

The 25 year old Whigham was found stabbed to death in her St. Martin, MS hotel room on Saturday after traveling there with a group of friends from the Hattiesburg, MS area to attend the Gulf Coast Black Rodeo in Biloxi, MS.

20 year old Navy seaman Dwanya Hickerson of New Orleans, who was stationed at nearby Keesler AFB for training was arrested Monday morning and charged with capital murder     He got charged with capital murder because he was trying to rob Whigham.

Hickerson was the man spotted on the hotel surveillance cameras leaving Whigham's room, and a tip led investigators to Keesler AFB armed with a with a search warrant.  Hickerson had been there at Keesler since April for training.

The case is an ongoing investigation, and as I get more developments I'll pass them along to you TransGriot readers.  

Justice For Mercedes Williamson! Vallum Found Guilty!

There's updated news in the Mercedes Williamson case.  Josh Vallum, the waste of DNA who killed Williamson has pled guilty to her murder, and was sentenced to life in prison!

The 28 year old Vallum was a member of the Latin Kings street gang, and he stabbed and beat to death 17 year old Williamson back on May 30, 2015 at his father's home in George County, MS and buried her on the property.

Vallum was indicted for the murder of Williamson on July 29, 2015 and pled guilty to the heinous crime.  

Vallum will be eligible for parole when he hits age 65, which won't be until 2053.

But we can now note that another murderer of a trans woman is locked up behind bars, and we'll be watching and waiting 3 years from now to ensure you stay there.

Continue to rest in power and peace, Mercedes.

RIP Amos Beede

One of the things we don't talk about often enough in Trans World is that trans men also are assaulted and attacked for being themselves, and from time to time they are fatal assaults.

An example of this happened May 22, in which 38 year old trans man Amos Beede, who wasn't homeless, but was staying with friends over the weekend in a homeless encampment in Burlington, VT because the local bus wasn't running.  Beede was viciously assaulted and kicked by four homeless people and suffered blunt force trauma to his brain, facial injuries and several broken ribs in what has been described as a 'possible bias incident'..  

He was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center where Beede died seven days later as the four suspects in the case immediately fled Vermont in a Chevy Malibu and headed to California    They were briefly detained in Roswell, NM when 21 year old Erik Averill, was arrested and held on accusations of assaulting his intimate partner, 22 year old Myia Barber.

Once Averill was released, the four continued their journey to California, where they were arrested Thursday night at Dog Beach, a San Diego homeless encampment by San Diego PD officers after a nationwide manhunt..

Averill and Barber, 25 year old Alison Gee, and 21 year old Jordan Paul were all arrested and charged with second degree murder and are facing extradition back to Vermont to face the legal music there.

Rest in power and peace Amos.   We will be tracking this case to see if you receive justice.

Houston City Hall Vigil For Shante & Willie

As many of you TransGriot readers are aware of, a certain blogger y'all know along with many of my Houston area trans family, allies, and supporters gathered at the steps of City Hall to remember the people we just lost Sunday night in Shante Thompson and Willie Sims.

The vigil in addition to honoring Shante and Willie, also honored the Texas trans people we have lost in 2016.  It also called attention to the jacked up transphobic media coverage of the Thompson-Sims murders by ABC 13 and KPRC 2 in addition to issuing a call for Houston media to do better when it comes to respectfully covering trans issues.

Let me emphasize respectfully, since it seems that respect for trans Houstonians has been sorely  lacking in our local media ranks since HERO was first proposed back in April 2014.

And it's too bad my comments about the piss poor coverage got cut and didn't make the 10 PM news,  But hope those stations got the message I was happy to deliver that the Houston trans community is tired of their failure to adhere to the 2001 AP Stylebook guidelines for covering trans people.

We're also beyond sick and tired of trans Houstonians getting demonized by Houston media without a chance to properly respond to their problematic coverage.

That also extends to the men like Willie Sims who love us.  It's past time that the men who openly love us and don't give a rat's anus what you think are recognized inside and outside the trans community for having the courage to live in that truth.    We also need the men and women who love trans people to also be unapologetic in expressing their love and support of their trans partners, and with our human rights under attack, we need that to happen ASAP...

We were also pleased and proud to have Mayor Sylvester Turner say a few words before the vigil started to drive home the point that the lives of all Houstonians matter in the H-town he wishes to lead.

It was also nice to have members of Shante's family, HPD's assistant chief, Pastor Freedom Gulley, Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen, Harris County DA candidate Kim Ogg (D), Caucus president Fran Watson and other clergy and organizations there.      

The ceremony lasted just under an hour, and in addition to short speeches by Reagan White, myself and a family friend of Shante's, Pastor Gulley read a resolution on behalf of the TransSaints ministry calling for love and acceptance of trans people, along with a spoken.word dramatic performance by Dee Dee Watters, and a lantern release by Nikki Araguz Loyd and William Loyd to close out the vigil.  

Thanks not only to the organizers of this vigil, but I thank you for the opportunity to be a part of another opportunity to spend some quality time with my Houston trans family and the allies who love and support us.

I just wish it had happened under different circumstances.

Rest in power and peace Shante and Willie.  We will not rest until the perpetrators of this heinous crime are brought to justice.